As a businessman, Bernard keenly grasped the desire of the local lord, Earl Wicks Target, to win over Zuo Si, as well as the local people's admiration and gratitude for the "dragon-slaying hero".

He directly announced to the public that Zuo Si was the real owner of the caravan, and took advantage of the fact that the locals began to become interested in this kind of power because of the horrible destructive power of the chaos magic storm, and sold some secondary magic items brought from Calim Port at high prices.

Whether it's a necklace that can shoot magic missiles, a ring that shoots scorching rays, or a wristband that can cast [Mage Armor] once a day, they are all sought after by nobles and wealthy businessmen.

There is no way! Myratma is originally a region where magic is extremely underdeveloped.

There is only one wizard tower in the entire city.

It is far from being like Calim Port, where there are hundreds of wizard towers of all sizes.

That’s not even counting the magic laboratories and alchemy workshops that were later converted from ordinary houses or villas.

Before this crisis broke out, the ruling class of this border city of the Kingdom of Tethyr always believed that the cavalry and knights they were proud of were the kings on the battlefield.

This foolish and ignorant idea continued until they witnessed with their own eyes the large-scale chaotic magic storm created by Zuo Si with [Spell Disaster].

Then it dawned on him how vulnerable those knights who had created countless glorious victories were in the face of truly powerful magical forces.

They all turned to pursue the power of magic.

The most typical example was the old wizard, who received seventeen or eighteen letters from nobles in just a few hours.

Without exception, the content is about the hope of sending a smart child in their family to the wizard's tower to learn magical knowledge.

Of course, Bernard did not let go of the major families and chambers of commerce that had suffered heavy losses after the crisis, and took the opportunity to purchase some local specialties at low prices.

For example, exquisite furniture made by top craftsmen, ambergris that is more expensive than gold, and tobacco and tea that are planted on a large scale after seeds are snatched from elves through war...

These commodities were originally in short supply, and even if you had money you might not be able to get them in stock.

But now, in order to raise as much money as possible to restore the villages, manors and towns that were plundered and destroyed by the monster army, all the chambers of commerce and noble families can only sell at low prices with tears in their eyes.

In addition, Count Wicks Target generously exempted the caravan from transaction taxes, so Bernard could be said to have made a fortune.

The huge profits completely stimulated his merchant nature, and he even began to lend money to some chambers of commerce and aristocratic families that were in urgent need of working capital.

Yes, you heard it right, it is lending.

Moreover, the monthly interest rate is over 10%.

Anyway, with the local lord, Earl Wicks Target, as the notary, and most borrowers have sufficient fixed assets as collateral, Bernard is not afraid that the other party will go bankrupt and cannot repay the loan, thus losing the principal.

Even the Earl's own family privately borrowed a large sum of money to form an army and restore agricultural production and commercial prosperity in the territory.

If everything goes well, the horrific interest rates from these loan sharks alone would be enough to earn hundreds of thousands of gold coins in a year.

No wonder the military strength of the Amn Empire is not very good, but its commercial influence is ubiquitous throughout the entire continent of Faerun.

Bernard only paid a part of the profits earned from trade and became a creditor to the entire upper ruling class of Mailatma.

Through these debts, he could slowly infiltrate and influence one family after another.

If handled properly, in a few years it might be possible to monopolize the city's foreign trade, or even intervene in the civil war in the Kingdom of Tethyr.

Of course, while Bernard was busy expanding his business, Zuo Si was also not idle.

He responded directly to the invitation of the old wizard Jeffrey and came to the other party's magic tower.

After some bargaining, the two finally reached a deal.

At this moment, in the workshop of the Mage Tower, Zuo Si, relying on the powerful ability of the [Creator] profession, shaped a ball of twenty tons of high-manganese steel, which he personally mixed according to a certain proportion, into the shape of a ferocious beast with strong limbs, sharp claws, tail and sharp teeth.

Not only that, he also used the limited amount of fine gold he had and the power of magic to strengthen his teeth, claws, and the sharp part of the end of his tail.

Jeffrey didn't waste any time and immediately chanted a spell, directing huge amounts of magical energy into the body of this weird golem in front of him.

Along with the dazzling arcane aura, the fifth-ring [Death Cloud], the sixth-ring [Command], and the seventh-ring [Limited Wishes] were successfully cast on the golem one after another.

Zuo Si was not idle either. He continued to use the professional characteristics and abilities of the "Creator" to incorporate a large amount of resistance potions and various rare materials with a total value of more than 10,000 gold coins into his iron golem.

In order to compensate for the defect of not having the eighth-ring spell [Transform All Things], he had to carve a large number of transformation magic runes inside the iron golem to ensure that it could produce similar magical effects.

This is why we need the old wizard's help.

Creating an iron golem requires too many high-level spells and a fairly high caster level.

The two of them worked on it inside and out for two or three days before they finally finished this powerful magical creation.

Obviously, it is not difficult to see from the appearance alone that Zuo Si is very aware of the disadvantages of the humanoid steel golem in the ordinary sense, so he decisively took a different approach and chose the animal form.

Because without the help of a smart enough brain, humanoid creatures can easily lose balance and fall.

Moreover, the speed of walking on two legs alone is far slower than that of running freely on all fours like animals.

In addition, the hard steel body offsets the originally fragile flesh and blood, so the killing efficiency of the claws and teeth strengthened by magic can far surpass the humanoid steel golem with weapons.

What's more, the Iron Golem also possesses a unique ability, which is to spray deadly "death poison cloud" from its mouth.

If you can bite the enemy first and then spit, the damage will obviously be much higher than simply spitting.

Combining all of the above ideas, the beast-like steel golem in front of us was finally born.

Zuo Si dared to guarantee that if he put Wilmes and the freshly-made iron golem into a closed space for a fight to the death.

Then the one who can walk out alive must be the Iron Golem, not the arrogant, greedy and cruel red dragon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The old wizard Jeffrey stood in front of the huge iron golem, his tone full of envy.

There are only two clay golems guarding his wizard tower.

As for "high-end stuff" like the Iron Golem, on the one hand, I don't have that much money, and on the other hand, I can't create one just by relying on my own spellcasting level.

Zuo Si nodded slightly: "Yes! It cost me nearly 100,000 gold coins to make this thing.

And that's not even counting the time, energy, and spells we both put in, as well as the mithril and fine gold that were consumed.

If you add them all together, the total cost might be more than 250,000 gold coins.

No wonder only the wealthiest and most powerful spellcasters create golems to serve as their own guardians."

Jeffrey touched the washed beard on his chin and couldn't help laughing: "Hahahaha! But you can't deny that it's worth the money.

I bet if you go talk to Count Wix Target and sell him this Iron Golem.

Even if the offer was 300,000 or 400,000 gold coins, he would agree without hesitation and then borrow money from other nobles and merchants.

Because there is such a powerful, loyal and 100% obedient magical creature.

If a similar city is besieged again, just send it out to cooperate with the army to easily defeat and annihilate the invading enemies in large numbers.

If used well, one can even defeat other lords of the Kingdom of Tethyr, annex their land and wealth, and eventually ascend the throne to become the monarch of the entire country..."

(End of this chapter)